10 Big Lessons WWE Must Learn From 2016
5. No Competition, No Division
For all The New Day’s success and the excitement surrounding the Women’s Revolution, most of WWE’s title scenes haven’t looked particularly strong this year. The US Title may as well not exist, Raw’s Tag Title scene has become a grey march towards The New Day breaking Demolition’s record, and the less said about the Universal Title, the better.
Even the Raw Women’s Championship suffers from a lack of depth outside Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. The likes of Nia Jax aren’t ready to step-up and become convincing contenders, which has almost necessitated the recent hot-shotting between Sasha and Charlotte. Women’s wrestling is more prominent than ever, but it’s not a deep division.
On the tag front, WWE have ran far too many teams into the ground. Gallows & Anderson may as well retire at this point, such is their uselessness, and SmackDown is plagued by teams like The Hype Bros and Vaudevillains who are never going anywhere.
Who’s going to step into the Intercontinental Title picture after The Miz and Dolph Ziggler conclude their business this weekend? Where are the credible World Title contenders to challenge AJ Styles or Dean Ambrose next?
Credible divisions need credible competition, and failing to create such competition has been one of WWE’s biggest problems this year. Guys like Titus O’Neil and Zack Ryder challenged for the US Title earlier this year, but they were never built-up, and thus, never stood a chance in the first place. There are countless other examples through WWE’s other divisions, and until WWE find a way to restore their competitive spirit, the belts won’t be worth a dime.